Over 2000 singers for second City of Derry International Choral Festival

Over 2000 singers for second City of Derry International Choral Festival

Wednesday, 22 October 2014, 9.00am

Derry city is set to come alive with the sound of singing this week as over 70 choirs take to the stage as part of the second City of Derry International Choral Festival. 

The choral action kicks off with the festival’s first choral symposium in association with the University of Ulster on Wednesday 22nd October. Conductors and choral music enthusiasts will take part in panel discussions, the launch of a new music catalogue and a practical workshop with one of Europe’s finest chamber choirs, Utopia & Reality.

Primary and post-primary schools will enjoy two days of competitions and workshops and experience the sounds of visiting international choirs on Thursday and Friday. National choirs will compete in various categories throughout Saturday and Sunday including Mixed Voice, Gospel and Sacred Music and the prestigious International Competition will take place on Saturday night with choirs from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Wales and Ireland. 

For those out and about on Friday and Saturday afternoons choirs will pop-up for impromptu performances in shopping centres, open spaces, bingo halls and other venues throughout the city. Visiting choirs will join parishes for Sunday services on 26th October and the festival will host two community concerts in St. Columb’s Park House and St. Joseph’s Parish Centre, ensuring that every corner of the city will experience choral music as part of the festival. 

In addition to the many competitions and performances, the festival will also welcome some of the world’s finest vocal ensembles and musicians as part of a series of evening concerts, including Harry Christophers and The Sixteen (Wed 22nd), the Neil Cowley Trio and Utopia & Reality Chamber Choir (Thurs 23rd) and The Swingle Singers (Fri 24th). 

Dónal Doherty, Artistic Director, says, “I’m very excited at how this year’s festival has shaped up. We have built on the energy and success of 2013 to provide an even more ambitious programme over the five days of this year’s festival. With more than 2,000 singers descending on the city, this will undoubtedly be the largest gathering of choristers ever seen in Northern Ireland. We’ll have some of the best choirs in the world sharing the programme with choirs who are being provided with an opportunity to perform for the first time – how exciting is that? For music lovers everywhere, this is a must-see event.”

Tickets for all festival events are on sale at the Millennium Forum Box Office on 02871 264 455 or online at www.millenniumforum.co.uk.

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Published by Journal of Music on 20 October 2014

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